AQA GCSE Business key terms

The stage when a product's sales increase rapidly as more customers buy it.

A law requiring employers to protect employees’ health, safety and welfare at work, and employees to take care of their own safety and that of others.

The levels of authority within an organisation, ranked from senior management to lower-level employees.

An arrangement allowing a business to use an asset while paying for it in instalments, becoming its owner after the final payment.

Information and communication technology: the computers, networks and software used to store information and communicate.

A good or service bought from another country.

A financial statement showing a business’s revenue, costs and profit or loss over a period of time.

Training that introduces a new employee to a business, its procedures and their role.

Computers, software and communication technologies used to store, process and share information.

The original amount spent on an investment project.

Introducing a new idea, product or way of doing things, or improving an existing one.

The inability of a business to pay its debts when they fall due.

Checking products or work against an agreed standard to identify faults or departures from that standard.

A combination of product, price, place and promotion decisions that support one another and suit the business’s target market and objectives.

The percentage charged for borrowing money or paid as a reward for saving money over a stated period.

A business between a producer and the final customer that helps distribute or sell a product, such as a wholesaler or retailer.

The exchange of information between people working within a business.

Filling a vacancy with someone who already works for the business, through promotion or redeployment.

Funding generated within a business or provided from its owner's own resources, such as retained profit, sales of unwanted assets or personal savings.

An individual or group within a business, such as its owners, managers or employees, with an interest in its activities.

The stage when a product is launched onto the market and sales are usually low and grow slowly.

Investigating a job to identify its tasks and responsibilities and the skills and qualities needed to perform it.

A document setting out the features of a job, including its duties, responsibilities, hours, location and pay.

Making a job more challenging and meaningful, often by giving an employee greater responsibility.

A production method in which each individual product or customer order is completed separately to meet specific requirements.

An arrangement in which two people, or occasionally more, divide the hours and responsibilities of one job between them.

A stock management approach in which a business holds spare stock to protect against supply shortages or unexpected increases in demand.

A stock-control method in which supplies arrive when needed for production or sale, so very little stock is held.